Deep Blue Sea
by sirsierr
Summary: When Haru is kicked out of his apartment, he has no other choice than to stay with Makoto. However, Haru has a storm brewing inside of him for reasons unknown, which Makoto can only hope to quell. Can Makoto help to make Haru feel free once again?


**Deep Blue Sea**

"Makoto? I have a favor to ask."

"Yes, Haru-chan?"

"... Don't call me that. And actually… I need to ask you in person."

Getting a call from Haruka at such a late time, after midnight, certainly shocked Makoto. He hadn't heard from him in a couple of years after they graduated and for as long as he could remember, Haru never went to bed past 9 o'clock. Upon hearing the knock at his door, Makoto promptly answered it and his sparkling green eyes soon gazed upon a man with soft black hair and tender ocean-blue eyes - however, in those eyes he could tell that a vicious storm was brewing.

"Haru-chan!" Makoto exclaimed at seeing his friend for the first time in years, his friendly disposition shining through. "It's so good to see you!" he said with a warm smile.

"You too, Makoto. You haven't changed." Haru muttered, lacking all emotion.

At this Makoto laughed and put his hand behind his head, looking away. Despite his moment of glee, his happiness was soon replaced with deep worry.

"Haruka, are you doing okay?"

Haru lacked a response, and instead silently wandered off into Makoto's living room, settling down on the couch with a sigh. Mako watched him and his eyebrows furled with concern as he followed him.

"Haru…"

"Makoto. I need to stay here for tonight."

Makoto gently sat down beside him and looked over at him, eyes wide with surprise. Looking down at his hands wringing with anxiety, Haru hesitated and then continued.

"I got kicked out of my apartment. My roommates said that they couldn't stand how quiet I was, and that it was annoying how much I would stay in the bath. So they told me to pack my bags and leave. I didn't know where else I could go…"

Makoto put his hand on Haru's shoulder to silence him. "It's okay, Haru, really." he reassured. "I mean, this apartment is pretty tiny, but we can make it work. Okay?" he flashed a small grin. A blush simply spread across Haru's cheeks at hearing this, and Makoto had the fleeting thought that he looked beautiful.

"Are your bags in your car? I can go get them for you. You stay here." Haru nodded faintly and handed Makoto his keys, who walked out into the night.

When Mako returned, there was no sign of Haru anywhere. He laughed and sighed to himself. "He must be in the kitchen frying up some of that mackerel I bought the other day. He really can't control himself…" However when he walked into the kitchen, Haru wasn't there either. "Haru?" Makoto sauntered around the apartment before coming to his room and seeing Haru standing beside his bed, poking at it curiously. "Errr, Haru-chan…"

"Mako. What is this?

"It's a bed, Haru."

"But why is it like this?"

"Oh… you've never seen a water bed before! Apparently they were really popular in America in the 80s. My old mattress was all worn out, but then I spotted this at a yard sale and the lady told me I could have it for cheap. I kind of bought it on a whim I guess!" Mako glanced over at Haru with a gleam in his eye. "Do you like it?" Haru once again nodded his head gently.

"You can sit on it, you know. I brought your bags in. You barely had any!"

Haru quickly flopped down onto the water bed, sighing heavily and gazing up at the ceiling with a dead expression in his eyes.

After a tense moment of silence grew between the two like a stone barrier, Haru finally spoke. He whispered blankly while he sunk into the bed, feeling it's warmth wrap all around him: "Do you want to know why they really kicked me out?"

"Haru-chan, you know you can tell me anything. Of course." Mako said, raising his eyebrows with a genuine expression of concern.

Haru closed his troubled sea-blue eyes and began to speak in a slow, frail voice. "It wasn't because of what I said earlier. I tried to drown myself. In the bathtub. My roommates found me gasping for air and started screaming at me, asking what was wrong with me, over and over again, their screaming was so loud…" A lump formed in his throat and he stopped before continuing on. "Makoto, I didn't want to live anymore. it was too painful. After our group split up and we all went our separate ways and stopped swimming the relays together, I haven't been able to find anything worth living for anymore. Being with all of you was the only thing keeping me alive all that time. And without all of you, I just couldn't… I couldn't." A single teardrop fell down his cheek, illuminated by a single lamp in the room, and quickly he was unable to control his emotions, the ocean in his eyes flooding over onto his pale cheeks. He clasped his hands over his face and sobbed and before he knew it, Makoto climbed onto the bed and wrapped his arms around Haru.

"Haru-chan. I'm so sorry... I didn't know. I should've known..." A teardrop dripped from Makoto's cheek as he embraced Haru with his strong, toned arms. Haru's tears gradually stopped falling as Mako's warm, tight embrace calmed him into just a small whimper, and eventually comforting silence.

"Haru, I think you need some rest. You've had a long night. You can sleep in here and I can take the couch if you'd like…"

"No!" Haru replied, looking weak and fragile. "I want you to stay here… and hold me." A blush spread across his cheeks as the words slipped out of his mouth.

"A-Ah, well… yes! Sure!" Makoto blushed equally as red and stumbled off the bed, so shocked by the words that he almost fell, and went to gather some blankets. When he returned, Haru had turned the light off. Makoto slipped into bed, covering them both with the blankets and once again wrapped his arms around the boy. He sighed in the darkness and held him until he could feel his breathing slow significantly.

As Haru lay there, the soft water bed wrapped around his body, waves of calm spread over him. In the serene darkness he could feel every small current of the water under his skin, and every once in a while hear the small bubbles from the pockets of air. The feeling of the water rippling under him gently rocked him into a state of peace that he hadn't felt since his high school days of swimming with everyone.

"Makoto."

"Haru?"

"I almost feel like I'm at the bottom of the ocean like this. I feel… free again. With you here."

Makoto's face again went tomato red, and instead of responding he simply rolled over on top of Haru and firmly held his cheeks with his hands, pressing his lips against his for a passion-filled kiss.

"Mmmf-!" Haru's eyes widened but gradually closed, and once again the feeling of calm took place in his body.

Makoto looked down at him with a serious expression, his face illuminated by the pale moonlight streaming through the blinds. "Haru-chan. I will make sure you never feel like drowning yourself again. I promise to keep you safe, and no one will ever scream at you like that ever again. You will always have a place in this world. You are so precious to me, I'm not sure if you even know. I couldn't even imagine losing you."

"M-Makoto…"

"I love you, Haru. I always will."

Hearing those words, Haru's heart fluttered. He slowly leaned up and returned the tender kiss, putting his hand gently on the back of Mako's head.

"I love you, Makoto. I always have."

After that, the two drifted off to sleep together, being rocked by the gentle flow of the waterbed as if they were lying together at the bottom of the deepest ocean, completely at peace and happy together. And for the first time in a long time, Haru's eyes had calmed back into a tranquil blue, free from any pain.


End file.
